Cabin Fever
by Freddo
Summary: A cute addenda to my AU saga of The Rikasha Incident as in late 2202, Nova's mother Teri has her latest two childrenat Thanksgiving in front of the family at home! A comical oneshot.


**ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE**

**STAR BLAZERS****---****CABIN FEVER**

**A Silly Addenda** **to THE RIKASHA INCIDENT--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz**

**(Told in the Words of Nova and Derek Wildstar sometime in 2208)**

* * *

**I. THANKSGIVING DINNER INTERRUPTUS**

**Earth**

**The Forrester Family Home**

**The Dining Room**

**Thursday: November 25, 2202**

**1730 Hours: Earthtime****. (Heck: 5:30 in the afternoon! This is no ship's Log!… N.)**

**PPS-This is being remembered by me in 2207-I have some insights now, being a mother myself…N.**

* * *

Hi. This is a silly story about a silly woman on a silly day. 

The silly woman? She's my silly, lovable (??) mother Teri.

God, forgive me, you're supposed to honor your father and mother, but…Momma…she embarrasses me. A lot.

My mother Teresa Forrester, usually known as Teri, is something of a career woman; a silly one. She is an art and music professor, with a BA from the University of Colorado here in Boulder, an MFA from Julliard in New York (earned while Dad was practicing law for the EDF Jag Office at Governors' Island) and a PhD from UC Boulder. She is obsessed with photography, the history of painting, the history of sculpture, and art books with chubby babies in them. On this day, on Thanksgiving of 2202, Mom was forty-four years old, and I was twenty-four. She was only nineteen when she met Dad at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and twenty when she had me. Both on this day, and in February of 2178, Mom was in a bit of a state. (Well, so was I when I had Alex and Ariel in September of 2207, but, as we shall see, I was in a state for a different _reason_).

Sorry, I'm rambling. Derek always says my log entries read like Russian novels. Oh, yes, in case someone ever bothers to read this someday, I'm Nova Wildstar, Lieutenant Commander, Earth Defense Forces, age, thirty, hair color, honey-blonde, currently EDF Reservist detached to Federal Central Hospital School of Medicine; bureaucratic way of saying I'm a medical student with a scholarship paid by the EDF. In exchange, I have to serve a certain length of time someday as an Earth Defense Forces doctor. Not a bad thing; it's my career choice anyway. Just hope that more strange aliens don't show up on our doorstep and want Earth. Between the Gamilons, the Comet Empire, the Rikashans, R'Khells, and the Technomugar, I think we've had enough excitement in about the last twenty years.

I'm married to Commodore Derek Wildstar who, at the time of this writing, currently is serving as an instructor at the Space Fighters' Training School while supervising the (Reserve) Interstellar Special Missions Task Force, which is to say, the _Argo_ and the _Arizona_; that is, the First and Second Star Force. Both ships are down right now, both in heavy refit. That was thanks to Princess Invidia. Bad pennies always seem to turn up again. But, I'm pretty sure she is finally dead _this_ time. But, that is another story. Derek is cute, smart, loving, and looks like a neglected sheepdog half the time….that hair…We have three children; Alexander and Ariel, who are now each nine months old, and an adopted son, Jonathan who is now 15 years old. He is also still in the Junior Space Cadet Corps unit at his high school at this time.

Well, back to the main point of this story, which isn't me, but my _mother_.

My mother and father had a romantic moment in February of 2202, during which they conceived my younger brother David and my younger sister Aurora. As I have discovered, somehow, there are often times when you are trying hard to have a baby; and you can't get pregnant (nerves, maybe?) but there are also times when one gets pregnant rather unexpectedly, as mother did and as I did.

According to Mom, I was an unexpected child, too. Not unwanted, of course…just…unexpected. In my case, my mom and dad were young, very much in love, engaged, and they had what one might call a lapse in judgment a month before they got married, and I was conceived in a park in Boulder with a wonderful view of the mountains on a steamy night in June 2177 due to that lapse in judgment.

I know the place; Mom showed it to me sometime during the summer of 2202. It was by a lake, very pretty, very isolated. I later brought Derek there at around 2 AM one night, and we went skinny-dipping in the moonlight and…and…well, I can understand why Mom and Dad conceived me there. (blush) It is a very pretty, romantic…place…uhhh…

Later on, as it turned out, Derek and I conceived Alex and Ariel at home one night… It's…kinda…detailed…but very romantic. Mmmmmmm…still gives me shivers thinking about it!

Of course, in 2177, when Mom found out she was pregnant with me, Dad immediately did the right thing and had the wedding date moved up from the fall to July. No one could figure out why; but my damn Aunt Yvona…when I was born…_she_ figured it out! Mom tells me that she and Yvona had a terrible fight soon after I was born. I vaguely remember her calling me an "illegitimate little bastard" to my face once when she was drunk. I didn't know what it meant at the time, but, later, I understood. Of course, later on, Mom told me that Yvona was very heavily pregnant when she was at the altar marrying my late Uncle Hiram. And, of course, due to her drinking, she lost that baby. Not surprising. Mom says she remembers that Yvona was drunk as a skunk during her own wedding reception when she was so obviously pregnant.

Anyway, enough about that unpleasant past.

On Thanksgiving of 2202, I was helping my mother clean up our little Thanksgiving dinner at the sink. Mom was expecting more people, but she had only Derek, me, Dad and herself to cook for. That three-day blizzard around Boulder kept anyone else from getting to the house. I do remember that there were lots of leftovers.

Mom was also very heavily pregnant at the time. Somehow, she had an apron on over a short jersey maternity dress, and she was in her stocking feet as she was washing up dishes. The flat backless sandals she had been wearing inside the house were temporarily discarded under a side table that held what remained of the turkey. Of course, she had needed to take them off. At this stage of her pregnancy, her feet and ankles were swelling up quite a bit.

"Mom," I remember saying. "If you're getting tired, I can handle washing up."

"Nova, you have a nicer dress on that I do," she said. It was a nice dress; it was one of my favorite white ones, with pink trim, and I wore cranberry-colored boots with it. However, I had an apron on, too; it was an effective apron for the purpose, even if it had a cartoon cat on it. Okay. I confess. The cartoon cat was Hello Kitty! Sometimes, God help me, I like that stuff. I remember Mom saying, "I don't want you wrecking it."

"I have on an apron, Mom, I can see that. You go sit down. You kicked off your shoes before. You look exhausted."

"Nova, honey, I'm picky about these dishes. They're our best china."

"Mom, what's more important? Your twins, or your silly dishes?"

"Derek and Karl are sitting in there watching football…"

"..and I plan to join them," I said.

"Why?"

"University of Colorado is playing UCLA in California, remember? You do remember I used to be on that cheerleading squad for Colorado?" I added.

"Yes."

"I'm wondering what their dresses look like now," I said. "I hope they haven't made them, like, really revealing…"

Derek came in, then. He was grinning with a can of Coors beer in his hand; he wore a sweater, jeans, and, God help him, cowboy boots. He _really_ looked like the cowboy of outer space, now; a cowboy with a samurai's mop of hair, that is. "Hey, Nova," he said with a crooked grin. "Come here and get a look at these cheerleaders…I can picture _you_ in one of these miniskirts!"

I rolled up my eyes to the ceiling. "Derek, I wish you wouldn't look so hard!"

"But I'm picturing you looking like that," said Derek contritely.

I gave Derek a hug anyway.

That was when Mom screamed and doubled over.

"Oh, God, NO!" she yelled.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked. "Momma?"

Karl came running in a moment later. He had on a sweater-vest, tie, nice slacks, and oxfords. "Teri, what happened?"

"I…I…," said Momma in a broken, shocked voice. "The babies…they're…"

I looked down. Her water had just broken. It was going all over the floor.

"Momma, nothing to panic about," I said softly. "I made sure I brought my nurse's bag in case this happens. Dad, go get some blankets and bedsheets and lay them out by the fireplace. Then call an ambulance; maybe a hover-ambulance can get here in this blizzard. Momma, I have to get you into the bathroom and get you washed up. Derek, go in the guestroom and get my bag, and get my spare surgical scrubs; the green ones I had on last night. The ones with the pants and the tunic. Got it?"

Derek was the first to nod and take off. I made Mother sit down while she grasped her stomach and screamed. "Nova, honey, it hurts…I…"

"I know it hurts," I replied. "I've been through this before."

"You've never had a _baby_!"

"Momma, I have a midwife's certificate and I brought three babies into the world already; two at the hospital, one at the mother's home. I know what I'm doing. You have to relax, and begin breathing. I think we can get you to the hospital, but…"

"Can you? That blizzard…I…"

Dad came running in a moment later. "Nova, the dispatcher wants to know if this is a life-threatening emergency."

I thought for a minute. "Dad, I can't lie. Mom's in good health, she's just in her early forties, I know she's been through the classes…Derek, good! You got my bag."

Then, I began to unbutton Mom's dress. "Nova! What are you doing?"

"I have to unbutton you, Mom. I need to check the babies' heart rate…"

"Not here! Not here!"

Derek handed me the bag. "Derek, can you step out of the room for a minute?" I said as I made sure the kitchen curtains and shades were closed and I helped Mom into a kitchen chair that I made sure had a back on it. I had a good reason for this.

"Sure," he said.

I not only unbuttoned Mom's dress, I just pulled it off. I had to get her pantyhose off, next, so I just pulled them down while she protested.

"What are you doing?"

"Mom, I'm sorry, but I have to get this stuff off you; it's wet. I need to check the babies' heart rate, and see how far you're dilated."

"But Derek will see me!"

"I sent him out of the room for that reason," I replied as I pulled off my boots and my socks before I washed my hands and got my stethoscope.

"Your father's going to see me! ARRRGGGH! I look like a blimp! I look horrid!"

I just giggled. "Dad sees you every night. No big deal. C'mon…stop struggling…many women give birth with little or nothing on, anyway." At least that was my experience. Doctor Sane and the obstetrician I worked with just preferred to get their charges undone as much as possible and under the covers ASAP. Things went differently with Mom, but I distinctly remember going through all of Alex and Ariel's labor and birth totally nude under some blankets due to what I had on at the time. (My uniform. It was just nine months ago!) "C'mon," I said as I got her bra off…I remember I just got a pair of scissors out of my bag and just cut it off. "I need to listen to your heart rate and theirs…fast."

"NOOOO!" my mom screamed as a contraction came. Somehow, I got the stethoscope on Mom's chest. "Dad, tell them Mom's heart rate is normal. I'm checking the babies' rate!"

"Okay!" yelled my father from the other room.

"That thing…" said my mother. "It….It's cold…cold…"

"It's just on your tummy," I said while holding her hand. "Sounds normal," I said as I attached a small instrument to the stethoscope; namely, a portable pulse-rate analyzer. It's an instrument just about the size of a cell phone. I listened and then picked up the device's analysis. "Dad! Tell them that according to my Bloomberg 528 analyzer, the fetal heart rates are within normal parameters! Thank God!"

"Okay," yelled my dad. "I'm telling them!"

Then, I got my mother to open her legs. I was even a little embarrassed at that, but…well…I had to get Mom cleaned up. And I had to see how she was dilating. No need to exactly be prudish about this.

Mom began to scream again. I held her hand through the contraction. Then, I began to wash my hands. Aware that my dress had long, tight sleeves, I simply stripped it off as fast as possible so it wouldn't interfere with the necessary toilette I had to do to scrub. It also left me in just my underwear, but I'm not particularly delicate about such things when we have an emergency. As I've learned, one can't be a screaming meemie on a space battleship, even though I am usually a pretty modest young lady.

I scrubbed fast and then got some clean washcloths for Mother. While she wept and screamed with the occasional contraction, I began to wash her very fast. Then, I checked her dilation rate with a small instrument I had for that purpose.

"WOW!" I said. "Mom, were you hiding this?"

"Hiding what?"

"You're at six centimeters already! Were you in labor and making dinner and not _telling_ us? That's so stupid! Dad! Tell them she's at six centimeters!"

"Okay!" he yelled.

Then, a moment later, Derek ran in with my scrubs. "Here they go…I…"

"HE'LL SEE ME LIKE THIS!" screamed Teri.

"I'm sure he's not looking at you, Mom," I joked. I needed to finish getting into my gear, anyway, so I just stripped out of my underwear for comfort as Derek handed me my scrubs. "I'm sure you're not looking at Mom, _are_ you, Derek?"

"Who's looking at your mom?" he said as he looked me over from head to toe as I stripped down all the way for just a moment.

_Good,_ I thought. _That distracted Derek!_

"Good boy," I said as I pulled on the green scrubs very fast. The scrubs consisted of a tunic (about the same length as my regular EDF nurse's tunic) and pants. Since we were in the house and I'd be kneeling a lot, I just chose to go barefoot. Then, I got Momma's hair undone as an afterthought. I very seldom do up my own hair, which is usually a good thing. It was a great thing right about now. Then, I pulled on latex gloves. I'd need several sets, and, luckily, I had them.

"Are you saying I'm fat, Derek?" yelled my Mom at the top of her lungs. "Nova, I want a sweater on!"

"No one is saying you're fat, Mrs. Forrester," said Derek reassuringly as he tried not to look while Nova fumbled about for a sweater. Then, he blew a kiss at me and slipped out of the room.

Again, good boy. I have Derek very well-trained. Seriously, he's very decent. Has to be that samurai honor or something. Then, my Dad ran in. "Nova, they said they can get an ambulance here in four…maybe five hours…maybe six. This is not…I…"

"They don't see it as high-risk, I take it."

"No. What will we do?" said Dad as Momma screamed again.

I walked over to Dad. "We'll get her calm and I'll deliver them myself. You'll probably have a hard time finding a midwife in this blizzard, anyway, and _I'm_ here and I have most of what we need in my bag; even the basic meds. Get her a sweater, Dad. She's freaking out."

"I think I know why," he said with a smile.

"Why?"

"Tell you later. It has to do with where _you_ were born."

"Momma, have you done this before?" I said.

"Where the hell do you think _you _came from?"

"Oh, I don't mean that," I said. I knew very well where I came from; I was looking right at…uhh…the place I came from. "Mother, did you go into labor before in some weird place?"

"YES!" she screamed.

I held her hand through that contraction and then several more as Dad came in with the sweater. It was a long one; and it would basically provide some covering and warmth, but could also be unbuttoned when the babies were born so they could go at her breasts. I knew there was no formula around, and I knew that (like most mothers these days) she planned to breast-feed, so, no need for delicacy there. I certainly wasn't always delicate myself after Alex and Ariel came. Discreet (where possible) yes. Delicate, no. When you have a crying child, no bottle, and what God gave you for that purpose, you can't be delicate. I checked the heart rates again; hers and the babies'. All normal. Thank heavens.

I also had a contingency plan in mind in case we had trouble getting milk from her; that is, inducing my own milk short term via hormone therapy. The technique was first developed in the 20th century for adoptive mothers so they could breast-feed their adopted children, but now, in our modern era of the 2200's, especially when we have so many adoptive mothers thanks to the planet bombings, medical science has improved the technique and the needed hormone medications by leaps and bounds. It would involve a little inconvience for me, and a fast-acting emergency DevoPro 8 hormonal shot, but, then again, that's why I had the syringe packed. I made Mom stand up, and I slipped the sweater on over her after I palpated her breasts a bit. _She should be letting down a little now,_ I thought. _Not much here. Great. I'd better get my shot ready, just in case. Those babies will need to be nourished, even if I have to help. And I might need to give her a boost; I don't want to fully induce labor yet._

"Momma," I said. "Lean over the chair. Good. Now, breathe…relax…you're going to feel two pricks in a minute," I said as I swabbed her. "One in your back, one in your bottom. The back one will hurt worse."

"What's in there?"

"Something to help a little with the pain, and a hormonal booster. The anesthetic is Harnax; it's mild, and it won't hurt the babies. The hormonal shot is DevoPro 6."

My hand was shaking a little as I got the needles unwrapped. It is not every day one gives their own mother an injection.

But, I did it. Poor Mom. She only screamed a little. Then, we got her to the bathroom.

After all, I still had to finish washing her up.

* * *

**II. IN THE LIVING ROOM**

**Earth**

**The Forrester Family Home**

**The Living Room**

**Thursday: November 25, 2202**

**8:38 in the evening **

* * *

Momma was on the floor not that far from the fireplace, on top of several blankets, and under a couple as she lay there, alternating with lying on her side and on her back. I didn't want her on her back all the time; lying constantly on one's back in labor squeezes the greater vena cava, which leads to decreased blood flow, a more difficult labor, distress for the baby or babies, and all other sorts of complications. Particularly for a slightly older mother. 

The snow was falling worse than ever outside. I could see the snow blowing and raging through the slightly cracked living-room curtains in the floodlights they had on the side of the house in the dark. By now, there had to be two, three feet of snow outside. We had the heat up in here, but I also got Derek to start a roaring fire in the fireplace and we also made sure we had two spark screens up. Mom and the babies, I was aware, would need as much warmth as possible, so that is why I got them to get that big living room as warm as possible.

Dad was as nervous as a cat, poor guy. He was kneeling on the floor in his suit pants, holding Momma's hand, rubbing it, and taking the brunt of her sarcastic, angry remarks. Of course, I knew that the sense of desperation and sarcasm were often quite usual for a woman in labor.

I was feeling a little of that myself. _If there is the least sign of fetal distress or if she needs a C-section and that ambulance can't get here_, I thought_. I will just have to dress her as fast as possible, attach her to a hover bike or snowmobile, and pray I can get her to the hospital myself in this murk and blizzard. I'm a good pilot. I could probably do it. But, would there be enough time? Oh…and we don't have access to a fighter or recon boat right now, when it'd be useful._

"C'mon, Teri," he said. "It won't be that long, will it?"

"No," I said. "She's at seven point five now…"

My mother screamed and gritted her teeth. "Damn _both of you!_ This is ripping me apart! God, why couldn't this have waited until the blizzard was OVER?"

"We can't always predict these things," I said softly, trying to be reassuring as I sponged her forehead with a wet rag. I checked the fetal monitor again. I had a belt set in the bag, and I had it hooked up to the Bloomberg analyzer now. Thank God for portable EDF equipment. If things remained normal, I would have most of what I needed in my bag.

I had also given myself the hormonal shot just in case I needed to help with the babies' feeding on my own. I was sure I could easily do it. I'm younger, and in much better shape than Mother even now at twenty-nine here in 2207. When Alex and Ariel came, I had no trouble at all naturally feeding them both. Then, in 2202, when David and Aurora were born, I was even younger (24) and in even better condition. Momma hadn't always kept in shape. I knew she could even have managed the military then with some effort, but I managed the physical stuff fairly easily, except for the heavy pack on my back during ground maneuvers. At semi-annual training at Quantico, I remember getting close to falling out a few times during those motherhumping hikes. But, I didn't. There was my own pride to keep up, and the unit pride associated with being in the Star Force. They give women a hard enough time in the EDF these days, since with a vastly reduced population thanks to the Gamilon War, there is a lot of social pressure to have children as soon as possible, and the older generation in government and in the High Command happen to be a sexist bunch to begin with! Not a lot of women do more than one hitch in the military due to that pressure. It's not like it was in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Then, when I thought things couldn't get any worse…they got worse.

The power went out.

"Oh, great!" I screamed. "Dad! Do we have an emergency generator?"

"no," he said in a very small voice.

"I need light, I need to heat water and boil instruments," I said. "And she and the babies will need warmth." I thought fast. "Ok, the fire will give us most of what we need. Derek, Dad, help me pick up this rug she's on. Mom, we're going to have to move you a few meters so I can get water boiling over this fire. Got it?"

"Yes, YESSS!" she moaned, screaming in another contraction.

I knelt down and got the middle of the rug. Dad got the head, and Derek got the feet. "Now, on three!" I said. "One, two, THREE!"

We got Mom up and moved her, using the rug as an improvised litter. As we moved her, the blankets fell away, and everything came into view as Momma lay there clutching her stomach in her open sweater with her legs up. _Okay, not good,_ I thought. _Derek can't see much of her in the half-dark, anyhow._

"Are you all right, mom?"

"Yes. It hurts! So much! Karl, I want to KILL you!" she raged at my father.

"Teri, darling, it's all right," said Poppa as he cooed and stroked Mom's hair.

"Derek, go in the basement and get some lanterns," I said. "We talked about where to find them if we lost power here, remember?"

"Aye, aye, ma'am," said Derek with a grin.

"Good. Go get 'em," I said. He ran off while Dad got two of the heavy cast-iron pots that hung in the fireplace after he moved the fire screens. He filled them with water while I checked Mother under a penlight. I did this as fast as possible, knowing she would need those blankets back over her to hold in body heat. With the heat gone, I could feel it beginning to get cold fast in my parents' big living room.

When Dad came back with the water, I washed my hands quickly with a little water and then put some of the instruments I would need in the water. Momma screamed again and again in her contractions as Derek came back with some battery-powered lanterns and one kerosene lantern. He and I got them lit as fast as possible while I moved Mother a little closer to the fire.

Then, I checked her again. Nine centimeters now. No sign of the ambulance.

"God damnit, _how much longer_?" screamed my mother. That was shocking. Mother had never had much of a mouth on her.

"Not much more than an hour," I said.

Then, Dad began to cry.

"Dad," I said, giving him a quick hug. "You've gotta be strong. For Mom."

"Nova, honey, I don't you if you can do this," he said as he broke down. "You're our…baby girl…"

"With a degree in biology, and two certificates and lots of experience," I snapped. "Mom's safe with me. She's…"

"Nova, I don't know if I want your hands on her or not" yelled my father as I began to examine her and she cried out.

"Derek!" I snapped.

"Yeah," he said. I noticed Derek was beginning to look pale at the impending scene. I don't think he had ever seen a birth before. I knew that, pardon me, I didn't need two patients, like him fainting, or like Dad freaking out.

"Derek, please get him out of here for a few minutes. I have to undress Mom all the way down, examine her, and give her another shot! He thinks I'm going to hurt Momma…"

"She is!" cried my mother. "My God, she's…"

"Mother, the babies are going to be here very soon," I snapped in an authoritative manner. "You've been through this before. I will have to use oil on you and keep everything hanging out. I may have to cut you. I may have to even use forceps. I know what to do. And it's going to get messy in here in a few minutes. We're ready for it. Derek, get Dad a drink. I'd want him here, but he's freaking out! At the hospital, I reserve the right to send the father out if it is upsetting him, and it sure is upsetting my dad right now."

Of course, later, with Derek, I didn't look at things so objectively since I was the one having the babies at that time. And I needed Derek's support that whole time. Indeed, I felt a little bad that I sent Dad out of the room later on. But, I was afraid he'd hit one of us. Or pass out. After all, he _was_ panicking. And panic is not good in an emergency situation. Not at all.

"Okay," he said.

"And, Derek?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"Get yourself one."

"Right."

"Nova, I want to stay with your mother!" said Dad in a quavering voice.

"Right now, Dad, you're upset. You need to take a walk. When you come back, we should have things under control, OK?"

"C'mon," said Derek.

Dad allowed himself to be led away by Derek. That left me alone with Mother.

"Please, don't hurt me," sobbed Mother as I took off her sweater.

"Momma, I'll try not to," I said in a voice meant to be cheerful. "But some things…well…they won't be pleasant. But we'll get through this. Together."

At least I hoped we would. Oh, _God,_ where was that ambulance?

* * *

**III. PACING THE FLOOR**

**Earth**

**The Forrester Family Home**

**The Rec Room**

**Thursday: November 25, 2202**

**9:45 in the evening **

* * *

Derek told me what happened next. I was, obviously, sort of busy with Mother while this happened. 

This scene is now told from Derek's perspective…from his memories of the events.

"My wife might die," said my father-in-law as he sobbed while I got a lantern on near the home bar. "And my children; I…"

"You have to have confidence in Nova," I said as I got a bottle of Scotch. It was Johnnie Walker Black Label, and we were going to have to take it straight. "I've never seen it before, but I know she's brought four babies into the world already."

"In these conditions?" sobbed Nova's father. "She's up there with my wife in the cold, in the dark, like a frontier woman by an open fire. This is horrible! She has hardly any pain medication! And she's being delivered by what? A twenty-four year old kid! My kid!"

"Mister Forrester, you have to have confidence in her," I said in a loud voice. I spoke loudly on purpose because I could her my mother-in-law screaming, and didn't want Mister Forrester to hear it. "She cares about us. She cares about her mother, about you, about her brother and sister, and about me. She's been through worse than this under pressure."

"Worse? What could be worse than this?"

"The mission to Iscandar. The battle of Gamilon. Being kidnapped by Sparks and his thugs on Iscandar. The journey home and turning on the Cosmo-DNA to save us and the mission while poison gas was all around her. The whole war with the White Comet. Confronting Desslok and saving my life. Helping me to prepare the _Argo_ for a final suicide attack on Prince Zordar's dreadnought. The whole Rikashan R'Khell War. The last battle with Ekogaru. Nova's flown missions and even commanded the _Argo_ in battle by herself right before we renamed her the _Argo_ again. This is a cinch for Nova by comparison. No one's shooting at us; there's no threat of death from a ship being blown apart around us; nowhere to fly. It's just your wife, a few lanterns, Nature taking its course, and Nova helping Nature a little bit. It'll work out. You'll see."

"I should've remembered, yeah," said my father-in-law. There was a long pause, during which I thought I heard two or three more screams and Nova shouting, "Mom! PUSH! BREATHE!"

Then, my father-in-law drank more whiskey. Then, he said, "Nova…you know…you weren't there. Nova saved our lives during the R'Khell invasion. When the garage at your place was under attack; she got us through that and to safety pretty much on her own, with the help of just that Marine officer. She's a smart kid. And tough. Tougher than Teri gives her credit for."

I thought that was the understatement of the year about my Nova.

"You're a great leader, too," said my father-in-law. "Teri…she thinks almost no one is good enough for our daughter. She was always very protective of Nova. She was our only child, and we thought she would be our only child for so long. Maybe having two new babies to care for will help Teri realize that our oldest daughter has grown up and has her own life. A life I could never share in, Derek. Of all the men Nova's met, I've admired you, sir, since the day I first met you."

"_Sir?_" I said. "Mister Forrester, I'm younger than you."

"But I just made it to Lieutenant Commander in the Defense Forces," said Mister Forrester. "Derek, you're a flag officer. And, you're the skipper of the most renowned spaceship on the planet now. No; maybe the most famous spaceship in history. You outrank me and you're not even twenty-five yet. Nova and you have a very bright future together. You kids are gonna go places, and you have your whole lives ahead of you. Not many people become world figures before they hit twenty-five, sir. You two are. And you have every damn right to be proud," said Mister Forrester as he began to sob.

Then, we stopped. We heard crying. It was the sound of a new voice. It was followed a moment later by the second cry of a baby.

Both of us ran upstairs.

* * *

When we got up there, we saw a beautiful, gentle scene. 

My mother-in-law was sitting up by the fire, wrapped in nothing but a lot of blankets and an afghan. She looked exhausted, wan, but happy as she nursed a tiny, tiny bundle wrapped in blankets. The little bundle had long eyelashes, a bit of blonde hair, and cooed as she fed at one of her mother's exposed breasts below her bare shoulder and just above the rest of her, wrapped up in the blankets. It was my guess right away that this was Nova's new baby sister, and I was right.

Beside her sat Nova. Nova sat on a blanket, and now she was bare-legged. Indeed, she had nothing on at all but a blanket that she was wrapped in, which just about covered her, except at one shoulder and breast, where she also held a little bundle wrapped in blankets while she occasionally wrote on a legal pad. The tiny bundle was, surprisingly, nursing at her own breast, and something told me that this little bundle was her own baby brother. Nova smiled at her mother, and her mother smiled back.

Nova's mother spoke first. "Karl?"

"Yes?"

"I'm holding our newest daughter. Nova has our son. Aren't they _beautiful_?"

"Nova?" I asked. "How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" she said softly with the hint of a smile.

"Feeding…I guess…your own…"

"I'm helping my mother with some milk," said Nova, in a very soft voice. She looked as angelic and relaxed as her mother did. I guessed then that she would be a wonderful mother when we had our children, and although we had to wait for a bit, it turns out I was right. "I gave myself a hormone shot. One of Mother's breasts has to be checked at the hospital. Until there's enough milk, I think I'll have to help out a little. It's new colostrum milk; just what they need for those first antibodies. Mine is compatible with Momma's because we're blood relatives, of course. Isn't my brother beautiful?"

"Brother?" said Nova's father.

Nova giggled. "Yes. We checked. Dad, Mom said you have the right to name my brother. She's chosen a name for my sister already. What do you want to name him?"

Then, I saw Mister Forrester come over and tickle his little son's kicking bare foot, which had popped out from under the blankets. "Teri, Nova, let's name him David."

"David Forrester," said my mother-in-law as Nova evidently wrote down the name of her brother. "I…like that. Karl. I'm naming our daughter Aurora; it's an astral name like her sister's name. Like that?"

Mister Forrester nodded as Nova recorded her sister's name on the pad for the first time. Then, he walked over and stroked Aurora as Teri uncovered her and rubbed her back to burp her. She was perfect; ten little fingers, ten little toes, and a chubby little clean body with a clean, smooth little bottom. As she squiggled, I could even see where Nova had applied a small clamp at what would be her navel; and I could see she was definitely a little girl. The sight of her moved me, but it didn't move me quite as much as the first sight of my own daughter and son less than six years later. "Yes, Teri," said my father-in-law. "I like Aurora," he said as he cuddled her back up in her blankets.

"Good," said Nova as she sat burping David, whom she had uncovered for just a moment. Everything on him from his nose to his toes showed, and it was also perfectly obvious that he was a little newborn boy, still slightly wet from his very first bath. David looked a little more feisty than his sister, and he had a louder cry. "Mom?" said Nova. "You do have diapers around, and a layette? I hope? I'm afraid that your son has quite a bit of Southern exposure right now."

"So does my _oldest_ daughter," said Mister Forrester with a little smile as Nova stood up. Luckily, her back was to her father as her bare bottom showed for a minute before I smoothed her blanket back down in a hurry. Nova whispered "Thanks," in a very little voice. Only I could see that she was blushing.

"Where's your _clothes_?" I whispered. She looked both angelic and sort of cute trying to preserve her modesty in just a brown blanket.

"Over there with all the messy and bloody things Mom was lying on; besides, I couldn't feed David in that scrub tunic; no way to open it from the front." said Nova. "Since we can't take them out to the dumpster in this, we'll get them in the fireplace. They'll have to be burned. Uh, Derek?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going into the bedroom to get fresh things for Momma and I to wear. It's getting cold in here like this. Come over here to the door with me while I get rid of this," she said as she gently handed David over. "Derek, support his head, and keep him warm until I get him dressed in something. Then, when I tell you, take my blanket and wrap him in it."

"Okay."

I went back to the guest room door with Nova as she ducked in and stripped, handing me the blanket after I took David. I wrapped him up in the blanket that Nova had just been wearing. Then, she said, "Derek. Take him out to his mother. It'll be a little while until I find our bags. I have things in them that'll fit both me and Momma."

"Okay."

I took David, who was beginning to fall asleep, and rested him in his mother's lap. She looked almost angelic, sitting there just wrapped in blankets, cooing tenderly to her newest babies. I hoped Nova would come out soon with warm clothing because I could see goose bumps forming all over the poor woman's bare shoulders and arms.

"You know," said my mother-in-law as she sat there holding her children. "I have a story to tell you about when we had Nova. But I'd prefer to wait until she comes out."

"Where was she born?" I asked.

"You won't believe it," said Mrs. Forrester with a tired little smile.

Then, a moment later, the lights abruptly blinked back on. I jumped a little as I heard a radio coming on, followed by the heating system downstairs.

"Oh, good," said Mister Forrester. Then, he looked at all of the stuff on the floor, wrapped up in a bundle. "God! What a mess!"

"No worse than when we had Nova," said Teri. "Remember? You got there a little late…"

"Yeah, do I ever remember!" laughed Mister Forrester.

"Remember what?" yawned Nova as she came back in. She had dressed in a burgundy running suit, that had a jacket that zipped down the front, snow boots, and a Colorado Rockies cap. She was carrying several bundles in her arms.

"What are those things?" said my mother in-law in a sleepy voice.

"Clothes. In case you haven't noticed, there's a blizzard outside, Momma. I can't take you out in a blizzard in your birthday suit when that ambulance comes. And I couldn't exactly run outside in nothing but a blanket, either."

"Where's my sweater?" said Mrs. Forrester as I scratched my head. _She just had two kids and she's worried about her sweater? Sheesh!_

"Uh," said Nova. "We sort of had to cut it off you, remember? Don't worry, I'll buy you a new one. Derek?"

I smiled at Nova and turned my head while Nova flipped open a set of pajamas.

"Dad?" said Nova.

"Yes?" he said in a quavering voice.

"Get the _shoji_ screen from over there. I have to be in private with Momma for a bit. I need to finish cleaning her up and getting her ready to go to the hospital, Dad. Do you want to be there holding her hand while I wash her up?"

"Uh…I don't know…"

"Ok. That's all right. Stand over there with Derek, then, Dad."

I noticed that Nova had a small bag of oddments; when Nova had our children I would later discover (intimately) that the birth area of a new mother needed special care; Nova was ready to provide that. But, for now, Nova gently put that folding screen between herself and her mother and we men since she felt this business was best left in private between the two women. After all, Mister Forrester still looked surprisingly green at the gills, and, for my part, well, in my opinion…she was, after all, just my mother-in-law. Looking would be very impolite. I didn't feel the same way about things with Nova six years later, since Nova, after all, is my wife, and we didn't mind sharing such personal things, being made of stronger stuff than Nova's parents.

I continued to hold David while Nova's father said, "There's baby clothes there. While Nova's dressing Momma, I'll show you how to clean, diaper and dress a baby, Derek," he said. "You know, Nova," he teased. "I haven't done this for twenty-three or so years?"

"You'll pick it up again," said Nova from behind the screen as she cared for her mother. "I'm sure you had enough practice with me…"

"Yeah, lots," laughed Mister Forrester as I unwrapped David. Then, Karl unwrapped Aurora and showed me step by step how to dress a baby from the skin up; from the diaper all the way up the to the baby booties. I had a vague idea of how to do so since I had helped out a little at the orphanage after my parents were killed during the planet bombings.

Finally, Nova brought her mother and new sister out from behind the screen; Mrs. Forrester was now dressed in warm white flannel pajamas, a robe, and bootie-like bedroom slippers. Baby Aurora now wore a white and pink layette nightie and pink booties. Little David's white and blue sleeper looked just as expensive, although his little sleeper top had a little cartoon steam train on it. Teri sat down in a reclining chair while Nova rested David in her lap along with Aurora.

With the chaos over with, after Mister Forrester began to burn the used and stained sheets, blankets, scrub suit, and most of the other deitrus left over from the birth in the fireplace, got a camera, and took a picture of the drowsy new mother holding her sleepy babies. There was a second shot where Mister Forrester encouraged Nova to get into the picture and caress her new sister's cheek, and then, I was talked into getting into a third picture beside Nova. Then, finally, I took a picture of both Mister and Mrs. Forrester posing with all three of their children.

It was right after that shot that we saw the red and blue lights sweeping outside. "Oh!" said Nova. "The ambulance is finally here! Let me let them in!"

There was banging at the door, and Nova ran out. A moment later, four burly paramedics came running in, bringing the snow in with them. Two of them had a stretcher, and they were delighted to see that Mrs. Forrester and the babies were just fine.

"Who handled the delivery?" asked one of them.

"I did," replied Nova. "I'm a registered nurse and certified midwife; I'm taking nurse-practitioner training now, too. " Nova ran into the kitchen and handed one of the paramedics a closed plastic bowl from out of the fridge. "I preserved the placenta and cords in this so you can analyze them and take any cord blood you'll need. I improvised a sort of chart on this legal pad. It includes how my mother dilated, the details of the birth and emergency medications I had to use, and details the babies' time of birth, their vital signs and the mother's, how I clamped the navel areas, and their names, Apgar scores, and estimated birth weights. I'm sorry; I have no scale here. Also, my mother needs to have a milk duct checked at the hospital; I think there's a small blockage of some kind. I'm aiding with the milk until then. My license numbers are also on the pad; let it be noted I've signed off legally on everything and am accepting responsibility with the doctor."

"Darn," said one of the paramedics. "We brought a whole birth kit. We thought we were gonna have to calm everyone down and do the delivery here ourselves."

"We have an open line to the obstetrician in the ambulance," said another one of the paramedics. "You can help us with the vitals and help talk to the doctor."

Nova smiled as she took her brother and sister after kissing her mother as she was helped onto the stretcher. Mister Forrester came next, and I was the last one up into the ambulance; I rode up front in the crew cab behind the drivers' seat with Mister Forrester.

Finally, the ambulance took off, its suspensor fields pushing it up off the snow as the fog lights came on with the headlights and emergency lights to guide it through the storm to the hospital.

* * *

**IV. THE END AT THE HOSPITAL**

**Earth**

**University of Colorado Hospital**

**Friday: November 26, 2202**

**1:25 in the morning**

* * *

I sat with Nova and my father-in-law and mother-in-law for a while in the hospital room in which she and the babies were placed together. The babies were snoozing in their little cribs near the bed in the maternity ward, while an elderly obstetrician named Doctor Lindenmann spoke to Nova, going over the improvised chart while he wrote up the results in a more conventional chart. The babies had been undressed, examined, weighed, given their first inoculations, and then dressed again in hospital clothing and given ID bracelets along with their mother. 

"How's Mom going to be?" asked Nova.

"Well, I used an ultrasound on that blockage in her breast; nice job diagnosing that, by the way. It should clear up by tomorrow, but I'd like you to stay here overnight with her to help with the feedings until then since we had a satisfactory outcome with your hormone therapy, Mrs. Wildstar."

"I don't mind," said Nova. "Will Derek and my father have to go home?"

"No," said Doctor Lindenmann. "The Commodore and your father can stay in a room down the hall that we normally make available for the father in high-risk cases. I'll just ask you and him to leave in a few minutes. We can talk until then."

"Doctor," said Mrs. Forrester. "I think you should tell Nova how you first met her. She might be amused by that."

"Sure," said Doctor Lindenmann. "Nova, I first met you and your mother about…uh…twenty-five years ago."

Nova looked shocked. "You mean…?"

"Nova," said Mrs. Forrester with a blush. "He…sort of…helped deliver you."

"Sort of?" asked Nova.

"Considering where your mother went into labor..," said Doctor Lindenmann as a smile appeared below his bushy mustache. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Nova. Nova breathed a sigh. "Nova?" I asked. "Where did your mom have you?"

"Right after an art class on the University of Colorado campus," said Nova with a blush.

"I had you with nothing on but a blanket or two on a classroom floor," said Mrs. Forrester in a small voice. "That's why the University gave you a full scholarship the day after you were born, Nova. The Dean of the school…he thought it was kind of funny…"

"Yes, she always had a habit of waiting for the worst possible time and place to give birth," said Doctor Lindenmann with a little grin. "Thank God, it came out OK. I just hope her daughters don't carry on the family tradition."

I smiled as Aurora woke up and began to cry while Nova looked at me and said, "Oh, I'm sure I won't. Right, Derek?"

I agreed. Little did I know how wrong we would be when September 2207 rolled around. Nova would certainly follow in with the family tradition then.

I know. After all, I was there…

* * *

**END.**


End file.
